Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has launch day woes and server problems

The wait is over! The highly anticipated Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 officially launches on PC and Xbox Series X/S today, marking the dawn of a new era for the flight sim with many new features and improvements.

Itching to jump in and get started? Before you do, here are some crucial details worth knowing about the release of MSFS24.

Release time and download size

The official release time of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is November 19, 2024 at 11am EST. However, you can start the preload in advance to avoid long waiting times after it releases.

You can start the pre-installation if you have either pre-ordered the game or have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, as this includes Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 from day one.

To do this, search for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 in the Xbox app on PC or console and select the pre-installation. (The pre-installation doesn’t download the complete game. Depending on your internet connection, it may still take a lot of time to download the remaining files.)

Officially, the installation size of MSFS24 is only 50GB, which is relatively small for such a large game. However, it’s quite possible that we’ll see a large day-one patch that makes final tweaks to the game.

Secure your pre-order bonuses now

Depending on which version of the game you pre-order, you’ll receive unique bonuses and additional content that come with it. Here’s an overview of them all:

Standard Edition: De Havilland Canada CL-415 Firefighting Aircraft

Deluxe Edition: All bonuses in Standard Edition plus 25 additional aircrafts and 10 additional international airports

Aviator Edition: All bonuses in Deluxe Edition plus 30 additional marketplace aircrafts

Incidentally, it’s also possible to play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 via the cloud if your PC doesn’t meet the minimum requirements. You’ll need a current Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for this.

Related: The best cloud gaming service for you

Launch day problems

As of this writing, yesterday’s launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 unfortunately caused more frustration than joy for fans. Disgruntled gamers have spread negative reviews, especially on Steam, where the game currently has an “Overwhelmingly Negative” rating.

The main reason for this is download problems, as most people were unable to preload or download the game last night. Many are even jokingly referring to the game as “Download Simulator 2024,” with one user entertainingly writing:

“Ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome to Download Simulator 2024. I’ve been in Download Simulator 2024 for exactly 43 minutes now and I’m only at 9%. So, if you were hoping that it would go faster this time than in Download Simulator 2020, I have to disappoint you.”

In addition, even players who at least made it into Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 still struggled with frequent disconnects and long queues. This could be due to server problems, although it isn’t clear why they were overloaded as Microsoft should’ve expected it and planned for it. The company has not yet commented on the problem.